Albany police release new details on officer involved shooting

ALBANY, NY. (NEWS10) -- Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins held a media availability to discuss the officer involved shooting on New Scotland Avenue.

Police were called to Morris Street early Monday morning for a report of a home invasion with a gun. Hawkins said the suspect or suspects escarped from the home and someone was reportedly jumping rooftop to rooftop. "The call came in simply as a person of his home was broken into he was being held at gunpoint and he needed police assistance so the officers had no idea what they were getting into," said Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins.

On the way to the scene, Hawkins said officers saw a man with a knife and dog near New Scotland Avenue and stopped him as part of the investigation into the home invasion. It's unclear if the two incidents are related to each other.

The man then allegedly sprinted towards officers holding the weapon. One of the officers then shot the suspect in the torso. Hawkins said it appears at least one of the officers tried to use a taser on the suspect.

The suspect, a 32-year-old man from Albany, was transported to Albany Medical Center and is in critical condition. All three officers were take to the hospital, one with a dog bite.

Hawkins said the Albany Police Department has opened its own investigation into the incident. Hawkins has also been in contact with the Albany County District Attorney's Office. He said the Attorney General's Office may also open an investigation as well.

The department is not releasing the body camera footage yet, but Hawkins said he reviewed it and the footage supports the idea that the officer was under attack and the use of force was necessary. "From what I saw on the camera, those officers, at least that officer who fired his weapon was under attack. This was an armed subject who was aggressively sprinting towards this officer and this use of force was unavoidable," said Chief Hawkins.  

Hawkins said officers would always prefer not to use force in any instance, but the use of force was unavoidable in this instance. He said the officers have been placed on administrative leave.

The police department does not know if the person who was shot was involved in the the home invasion. As far as he knows, Hawkins said the person is still in critical condition. The dog was taken into protective custody.